Enough Steamboats?
by Maureen Helton
Summary: Obviously follows Santa in the Slush. Multichapter story. Each chapter is a reaction to the kiss from a different character.
1. Caroline

AN: because of the latest episode, I felt the need to explore the reactions to the kiss. I swore to myself that I wouldn't. This is going to be a multi-short-chapter event that shows the reactions of various people to _the_ kiss, starting with Caroline.

Inadvertently the prosecutor took a small step back. _That's quite a few steam boats_ she thought to herself. Over her years, Caroline had honed her people skills. She watched the unspoken interaction between the two "partners" since Booth introduced her to the anthropologist. At times, especially during their arguments, the sexual tension between the two was thick enough to cut with a knife. She had been wondering if each knew the other's feelings. It was so obvious to the rest of the world. Though she was an outspoken and very forward woman, Caroline had never pushed the pair together until now.

She remained on the spot and continued to count steam boats in her head.

At first she thought the martial arts expert anthropologist might slap her for suggesting such a thing. Caroline knew that family was Temperance's weak spot, and she hit without mercy. She enjoyed the look of torment on the anthropologist's face that morning. She enjoyed the look on Booth's face when he realized that she was going to kiss him with or without his permission. Caroline could tell that the two were enjoying the feel of the other so close, yet they were both careful to not convey this feeling with too much passion in the kiss. They broke apart from the kiss, both grinning like fools. Caroline tried to keep her mouth closed, but was unsuccessful. This wasn't what she had expected, not really. She had expected a bit more of a struggle on Booth's end. In a way she was glad he hadn't protested too much. Caroline was pulled from her musing when Dr. Brennan spoke.

"Was that enough steam boats," she asked breathlessly. The color was rising the anthropologist's cheeks. Caroline nodded, still open-mouthed. She mumbled her reply and dismissed herself with uncoordinated words. She could feel the vibrance in the room, the reverberation of the kiss she arranged. She hoped the two remaining in the room would drop the charade of kissing "like siblings" they had been affecting and face what seemed to be inevitable.

AN: Yep. Short and sweet. Depending on how well I sleep tonight you might find out how Angela reacts. Please review. For those interested, You Learn is on an indefinite hiatus. I'm not feeling the love for it.


	2. Angela

**AN: I have the flu, so I've slept the past two days. No intentional delay.**

Angela strode past the office of her best friend on the way to the restroom. As usual, she looked through the glass walls to find her friend and her partner Seeley Booth talking together. Maybe it was her imagination, but the two seemed to be standing almost awkwardly. Resisting the temptation to pounce on it, she continued on her path to the restroom. She resumed her normal pace and almost bumped into Caroline Julian, who seemed in a state of shock.

"Are you alright," the artist asked.

"I'll be fine," the prosecutor replied. Angela was unable to resist.

"What happened, Ms. Julian?"

"Something slightly miraculous."

"How miraculous," Angela pressed.

"You wouldn't believe it." Angela continued to stare. "Doctor Brennan just kissed Agent Booth." Angela was silent for a moment.

"Oh. My. God. Give me the details, now!"

"I have to go, Cherie."

"No! You have to tell me about it."

"I have to go, Miss Montenegro. Some of us still have shopping to do." With that, the prosecutor left a gaping Angela in her wake.

After a stop in the restroom Angela made her way to Hodgins' workspace. She stood there for a minute and a half before her beau looked up. Seeing the look on her face alerted him to the fact that something must be going on.

"Hey honey," he greeted cautiously. "What's going on?"

"On? Why would you think that anything's going on?" She bit her nails.

"Well, your eyes are huge, your stance suggests that you'd like to tell me something, you're fidgeting, and besides, Angie, I know you. So what's up?"

"Brennan and Booth kissed." There was silence in the room for a moment before Angela spoke again. "Yeah. I know. I knew this would happen, but still. Wow."

"Did you….did you see it happen?"

"No. I ran into Caroline in front of Bren's office. She looked shocked, so I asked her what was going on. She told me. So I don't know the details. I just know it happened."

"I'm sure she'll come to you when she's ready to talk about it."

"Yeah. I'm, sure you're right. Thanks, babe." She left him and headed back to her own office. Once inside, she sat down in her chair and attempted to busy herself. She rearranged the items on her desk. Still, she couldn't shake the thought of Brennan kissing Booth. It had been years in coming, but she didn't really think it would happen.

Angela remembered the beginning of the partnership between the FBI and the Jeffersonian's anthropology department. They had bickered from the beginning. Back then Angela had thoughts of getting together with Booth. Soon enough she had sensed that there was something more than just partnership growing between the two and backed off. Then she started insisting that Booth was perfect for her best friend. Every time Angela brought up the topic, her friend would roll her eyes and make up an excuse. As time progressed, her excuses had become more and more pathetic. Sometimes it made Angela want to laugh, and other times it had made her want to hit something. Right now she wanted to get all of the details from her brainy friend, and maybe try to nudge the doctor and the agent together. Angela knew that the two needed their own time to talk about it and think it over before she pushed her way in. Vowing to give her friend sometime, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She hit the speed dial for Brennan's home phone. Knowing that Brennan was still in her office, she waited silently for the answering machine to kick in. When it did, she chose her words carefully.

"Sweetie," she said by way of greeting, "I know what happened today. I want you to call me when you get this message, and _before_ you leave for Peru. Please, just call me." She smiled and tucked the phone back into her pocket. She decided to leave work a little bit early today. Caroline was right; there was still shopping to be done.

AN: My plan for this is to do maybe one or two more characters before Brennan and Booth. After that, I might do a chapter that would be a better conclusion to the episode than the one that was written for the episode. Be kind- review. You can give me suggestions on what/who to write.


	3. CamZack

**AN: I had finals, papers, and projects, so cut me a break. Cam, Zack, and Hodgins in this chapter. BTW, this is all happening during the episode. **

Zack looked up from where he was bent over the skeleton of Kris Kringle when he heard the clicking of Dr. Saroyan's heels on the floor of the lab. He straightened his back as his superior came to stand in from of him on the opposite side of the autopsy table. Hodgins was sitting in the corner working on the computer. He spun around in his chair to face the other two people in the room. Before he could speak, Cam began asking Zack questions.

"How far are you in finding the weapon used in the Santa murder?"

"So far I've determined that it was something distinctly curved. You can see that from the pattern of injury here," he ran his finger around the indented portion of the skull. "There are fragments in there, but I can't tell the composition." Hodgins looked up from the computer.

"Yeah. I'm running analysis on those now." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "So have you guys heard the news?" He couldn't resist. He smirked as he watched the looks of curiosity cross his coworkers' faces. Finally Cam caved and asked the question.

"What news, Doctor Hodgins?"

"Brennan and Booth," he said, implying it was an obvious answer. Cam signaled for him to go on. She sighed.

"What about them?"

"They kissed." He waited a few silent seconds before the next person spoke.

"Alright then, " Cam said. "That's really none of our business." She turned and exited the platform, leaving the two colleagues looking after her.

She told herself that it really didn't matter. Sure, she had a history with Booth, but after all, it was a _history_. Totally in the past. That had been evident the day that she had taken Booth to her father's birthday dinner. He'd kissed her sister. Surprisingly she hadn't minded. Cam's relationship with Booth had been over, and her wounds had healed more quickly than she would have expected. She had known that she would have competition getting Seeley back from the first time she had seen the two work together. He told Cam that it wasn't like that at all. There was a line of professionalism between himself and Doctor Brennan. That same line obviously didn't exist between Cam and Booth. But those days were gone. There was no need to reminisce on a past that she would not allow to repeat itself. She would just stay back and see how things unfolded themselves.

----

Zack and Hodgins watched Cam's form retreat through the lab. Hodgins turned to Zack and stared at him for a moment.

"Well," Hodgins coaxed.

"Well, what," the younger doctor asked.

"You're ridiculous. I just told you that Brennan and Booth kissed. I get zero reaction from you, and Cam walked out." Hodgins looked incredulous.

"I don't think that Doctor Brennan's and Agent Booth's sex lives are any of our business, together or separate. I think that Cam is right; it really isn't any of our business. Have you finished your analysis of the particulates from the cranial injury?" Hodgins rolled his eyes.

"I haven't narrowed it down yet. It's clearly metallic, but the computer is still thinking."

"Computers do not think."

"Processing. Whatever man. How can you not care about that kiss?" Jack kept pressing; he couldn't believe the young doctor's indifference.

"It doesn't really matter. It doesn't affect us. If Doctor Brennan thinks it's important she will inform us when she is ready. I think you've been around Angela too much; you're starting to share the same interest in Doctor Brennan's personal life." Zack continued cleaning the skull, unaware of how his reaction had bothered his partner.

"I'm not… I mean, Angela….we're different people. I'm only interested in this part of Brennan's life because it might affect their working relationship, which may affect our connection with Booth and possibly the entire FBI!"

"I think you're over-reacting, and you need to get back to work. Solving this case is more important than gossip." Hodgins glared at him for a moment before turning back to his computer and reading what was on the screen.

"Common brass," he muttered to himself.

AN: I'm not going to pretend that I fully understand Cam's character, so if her reaction is not to your liking, I'm sorry. I really just don't get her. Please review!!


	4. Brennan&Booth

AN: Using my new laptop to write this chapter. :D

Brennan opened her front door using her key and groped around in the dark for a light switch. She kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag on the floor next to them. Glancing around her apartment, she noticed the light on her answering machine signaling to her that she had a message. She pressed the button and Angela's voice filled the apartment, rich with the cadences so familiar to Brennan. She sounded just like Brennan had expected her to sound after finding out about the kiss; excited and prying. The temptation to ignore Angela's message was overwhelming. Maybe she could just put it off; she had rescheduled her flight to Peru until the next morning. She held the gut feeling that if she didn't call Angela soon, Angela would call her. She got herself a glass of water and took the portable phone from its cradle. Sitting herself on the couch, she dialed Angela. After two rings, Angela answered.

"Sweetie!" she exclaimed. "How was it?"

"How was what," Brennan tried to avoid the inevitable.

"The kiss, of course. How was it?"

"Fine. Almost like kissing Russ."

"You and I both know that's not true," Angela pressed.

"Honestly, Ange, it was good. I didn't want it to be good."

"You didn't want it to be good in the same way that I didn't want my first date with Jack to be good," Angela explained for her. "Because if it sucked, there would be awkwardness, but you'd get back to normal. Since it was good, you don't know where to go from here."

"Exactly," was the only response she could muster. "And I just don't know, Ange. When I went to see," she paused, "my family, he brought a tree. He and Parker decorated it and stood outside the jail. And he was the reason that I decided to talk to Caroline to see if visitation was even an option."

"And he always does things like that," Angela said. She smiled to herself, imagining how her friend on the other end of the line was reacting.

"Yeah, he is." Brennan shifted on the couch, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Sweetie," she sighed, "this is the part where you get all quiet and say 'I think he likes me' in a terrified tone."

"Yeah, if we were fourteen. But we're not."

"It's still the same situation, hon."

"Alright," she gave in and lowered her volume, "I think he likes me."

"Duh sweetie. But we're making progress. Boy likes girl. Does girl like boy? Well, I know the answer to that. So, the next step is for girl to make the first step and make a move on boy. God knows he's made enough on you."

"He has not!"

"Bren, you're just willingly oblivious. The rest of us notice, trust me."

"Angela," she said in a warning tone.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I'm leaving for Peru in the morning; it would be pointless to try to start anything now."

"That's just a copout. You're running. This is just something that you don't want to think about. Honey, running away won't solve anything. If you don't want any kind of relationship between yourself and Booth, you two need to at least sort it out. If you go to Peru tomorrow, when you come back the both of you will just go on as if nothing ever happened. Then in a few months something else will happen, and you'll miraculously be needed in Madagascar. Just talk to him." The anthropologist took in a deep breath and let it out before speaking.

"Okay. I'll call him. Thanks Angela."

"No problem, sweetie. Somebody has to make you live. I'll talk to you after you talk to Booth." Then the artist disconnected, leaving Brennan alone with her thoughts.

"Fine, I'll call him," she said to her empty apartment. She refilled her water glass and sat in on the end table by the couch. What was she even going to say to Booth? Better question: what did she want to happen with Booth? Like she had said to Angela, he was always thoughtful and considerate. He was nice to her. Then there was the kiss. She continued to tell herself that she only kissed him because Caroline wanted her to. Was there more to it than that? Maybe. Probably. She resettled herself on the couch and grabbed her cordless phone, and dialed a number as familiar to her as her own.

---

It was Christmas Eve and Booth still had several presents left to wrap before putting them under the tree. It was almost ten PM and Parker was asleep after his bath. Booth knew he should be wrapping Parker's gifts, but he wasn't. He was settled on his sofa with half of a bottle of beer in his hand. His feet were propped up on the coffee table before him. The TV was on, but it provided him little distraction from his thoughts. Thoughts that revolved around his work partner and the kiss they'd shared.

In all honesty, he'd been reluctant to kiss her. He'd imagined their first kiss many times before, and none of his scenarios included Caroline Julian or mistletoe. But Caroline was feeling puckish, and Bones wanted to make Christmas for her father. He understood it. Christmas had always sucked for Bones since her parents left. For the first time in more than fifteen years she was able to have something that resembled a traditional Christmas with and almost traditional family. To get all of that, she needed to kiss him. Being a woman of reason, she just figured that she'd kiss him with or without his permission. It had quickly turned into more than just a mistletoe kiss. It was definitely more of a kiss than she would plant on Russ. He remembered her warm lips against his, and the artificial mint taste in her mouth. Her hands pulling on his jacket, bringing them closer together. He remembered their kiss, every swipe of the tongue, and he wanted her. He pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket, and pressed his speed dial. He placed his beer on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch, ready to talk to Bones. Then he heard something he wasn't expecting: a busy signal. He sighed and placed his phone on the table next to his beer.

---

A busy signal. Great. Amazing. Who was he talking to? Maybe it was important. She didn't want to interrupt. Should she call back later? Would it matter? Would he answer? All this over one person. But Angela was right; she needed to talk to him before leaving for Peru. She headed to her kitchen and filled up her third glass of water of the night. She decided to give it a few minutes before she tried again. She resettled herself in the warm spot on her couch and leaned her head into a cushion. She knew there were things she should be doing: rechecking what she'd packed, showering, eating dinner, just to name a few. But she was sitting and waiting to cal Booth again and hope he'd pick up. It was a far cry from the fiercely independent woman she had been before meeting Booth. She would have scoffed at a woman waiting to talk to a man even a few days ago, and there she was, doing just that. She picked up the portable and it rang in her hand. The caller ID displayed Booth's umber on its tiny screen. She breathed in and answered on the second ring.

"Hello," she spoke into the phone. After a pause, he spoke.

"Hey Bones. I just called to talk to you. Um, if you don't mind my asking, who were you talking to ten minutes ago?" The question surprised her. Ten minutes ago, she was trying to get in touch with him.

"Nobody. I called you ten minutes ago and got the busy signal. I guess you were calling me while I was calling you." She smiled as she relaxed into her couch once more. She steadied herself before speaking again. "I was wondering if I'd see you before I leave for Peru." Her words sounded almost hopeful, something Booth picked up on.

"Yeah. Parker's still over here, but he's asleep. You're welcome to come over."

"I don't want to cause any confusion of he gets up to try to find Santa or something." She chewed on a portion of her lower lip.

"He won't. He knows that he needs to stay in bed in order for Santa to leave anything. Come on over. It'll be fine." Now his tone revealed a bit of hope.

"Alright. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"See you then," he smiled into the receiver before hanging up.

Brennan shuffled around her apartment, putting on her jacket and shoes. She pulled her hat on over her head, locked the door, and headed into the night.

AN: Next chapter, you guys. Next chapter they'll actually talk. Please, please, please review. I only got two reviews last chapter, and I got sad and didn't write this chapter as soon as I would have.


	5. MORE Brennan & Booth

AN: Thank you for the reviews! It really means a lot to me. Do it again, please!!

Booth paced in his apartment, alone except for a sleeping Parker a few rooms away. Why was he pacing waiting for Bones? He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He figured he should start wrapping Parker's gifts while he had a minute. Pulling gifts and wrapping supplies from his bedroom closet, he heard a faint knock at his front door. He dropped what he was holding and went to answer the door.

---

There was thin film of sweat between her hands and the steering wheel. The sweat had no right to be there. It was freezing outside and the heating system had not yet warmed her small car. Did she really have nervous sweats because she was going to see Booth? That was stupid. How many times had they been together outside of work? Tons. So why should this be any different? Because of the kiss. She should have said no to Caroline. Then things wouldn't be so awkward between herself and Booth. Were things awkward between them, or only in her mind? She drove past his house and circled the block. Then she came to a stop and parked in front of his house. She walked quickly up the walk to his door. Not wanting to wake Parker, she knocked on the heavy wooden door. After two minutes of shifting on the spot, she knocked again, this time harder. She began shifting again when the door was opened by Booth. He waved his arm in a gesture that surely meant for her to come in. Silently she nodded and followed him inside where she kicked off her shoes and hung her coat on the rack inside the door.

"Hi," she breathed after a minute.

"Hi yourself," he smiled at her.

"I didn't think to tell you earlier, but happy Christmas Eve day."

"It's not day anymore."

"I know. But the thought is still there. How's Parker?" She followed him into the living room and sat on his couch, leaving a cushion between them.

"Parker's great. He's such a smart kid, you know? He figured out his own way of having Christmas morning with me. He was so excited when told him he got to decorate two trees with me."

"Thank you for that. It meant the world to my dad and Russ, and Russ' family. It's the best gift I've ever gotten: being able to see my family _and_ having a tree. Thank you." The thank-you hung between them for a moment before Booth spoke next.

"You're welcome. I just wanted you to be happy." She smiled at him, and he silently marveled at her beauty. "Listen, do you want to go to my bedroom with me?" She spoke before he could choke out is explanation.

"That's a little forward, don't you think?" Her tone was teasing and there was a smile in her eyes.

"I, uh, um, I still need to wrap some of Parker's things. I thought we could talk while I do that." Booth seemed a little flustered.

"Sounds fine. I'll help you wrap things." She followed him down the hall and into his bedroom. It was what she'd expected his bedroom to be like, and somehow different. He had a king-sized four poster bed that was made of a rich mahogany. The blanket on the bed was filled with tans and colors almost the same shade as the wood making up the bed frame. The room itself was very clean; there was nothing cluttering the floor or any surface. The cleanliness of his living space seemed to emphasize Booth's military background to her.

"Just a second," he said to her before entering a closet on one side of the room. He emerged shortly with an arm full of presents, tape, scissors, and paper. He added it to the smaller pile of similar items at the foot of his bed, walked to the opposite side of the bed from Bones, and flopped himself gracelessly onto the comfortable surface. He looked at Bones with a "why-aren't-you-on-the-bed" expression on his face. She smiled lightly and took a seat on the bed. He watched her for a second. He watched her eyes sweep over his room and felt a sense of pride that she was choosing to spend time with him in his own domain.

She felt him watching her. She wriggled her toes; her feet were cold. She tried desperately to not think of him, and to not think of him watching her. Her big toe found a hole in her sock. She could smell him next to her; his cologne mixed with his natural scent invaded her thoughts and she frantically tried to push it out. Her toe continued to work the hole. She wondered if he noticed that she wasn't looking at him, and that she wasn't saying anything. Her toe was almost through the growing opening in her sock. She turned her head slowly, not wanting her movements to appear too sudden.

"So how was your evening with Parker?" she tried to keep the subject matter light.

"It was great. We decorated the trees, brought you yours, and came home. We had Mac 'n cheese. Not as good of yours, of course. Maybe you could make it for me again some time." She heard the same bit of hope in his voice she had heard earlier that evening. What was he hopeful for, the macaroni or her company? Her toe found the hole once more.

"Sure. You just pick the date." _Date_, he thought. Did she mean….no. She meant an actual date, as in the one on a calendar.

"I'll need to think about it, Bones. With you going to Peru and all, you'll need to tell me when you get back." His voice seemed softer when he spoke of her leaving for Peru.

"It shouldn't be that long. The longest thing about working for National Geographic is you have to keep stopping so that their camera angle is just right." She gave a small laugh. "That's far more tedious than actually recovering the bones." he bit back his instinctive accusation, and paused for a beat before responding.

"You don't have to go to Peru." His voice was definitely softer, smaller almost, and his eyes were focused on the blanket beneath him.

"Yes I do." Her tone suggested that she found his remark ridiculous.

"No. I mean, I was there when you got the offer. They were going to come to you with their bones and their archaeologists and their camera crew. You don't need to trek through Peru for them. They just wanted an authentication from the great Doctor Temperance Brennan. Let them come to you. Stay in DC this year." His eyes came up and met hers, cautiously.

"I have no reason to. Angela is occupied this year, Zack is going to Michigan, my family is in prison. You're taking Parker to Vermont tomorrow. All that's here for me is my empty apartment. There won't be anything for me to do but write. In Peru there's a team waiting for me. Besides, what possible reason could I give to National geographic for not going to Peru?" For the first time in years, her blue eyes appeared shy to him. She seemed torn over this issue.

"Do you really want to go?" he asked. "I'll be here. Knowing Rebecca she's stopped in New York at a hotel somewhere. They planned to drive the whole way, and Rebecca isn't one for long rides. I can drive to New York in a snap. You can come too. Parker adores you."

"You really don't have to do that. I can't really cancel this. It's-"

"National Geographic," he cut her off. "I know. You _can_ cancel because it's they who want you, and not the other way around."

"Alright. You've convinced me; I'll cancel." She saw the look of excitement in his eyes. She took a moment to breathe, and pushed on. "But do you really want to spend your Christmas with someone who used you?" He looked at her with question marks for eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, in my office. Caroline. The mistletoe. I used you as a means to get what I wanted. Put simply: I used you, and I'm sorry." She met his chocolaty gaze once more, only to find amusement in his features.

"You think you were using me?" he chuckled, a sound that relieved her. "I enjoyed that, Temperance." The use of her given name indicated seriousness. "And I thought you did too. Unless you really do like Russ as more than a brother." This time she laughed as well.

"Russ and I are not incestuous lovers, if that's what you're implying." She looked away briefly before regaining their eye contact. "I did enjoy it," she admitted quietly, gazing into his eyes as she spoke. In a second, the distance between them was closed, and their lips met once more. It was hard to say who initiated the kiss, as they both wanted it. The kiss gradually became more heated, and just as gradually it died off.

"And I liked that," he concluded. She smiled and blushed lightly. "I would like many more kisses like that."

"Are you," she paused, "asking me to be your girlfriend?" She looked at him inquisitively.

"Yes."

"But what about your line? The line that separates us because we work in high-risk jobs?"

"Is this really a fight you want to be having?"

"No," she said simply.

"Good." He smiled and kissed her again. Temperance Brennan was nothing like any girlfriend he had before, and he hoped sincerely that their relationship would not come to an end as it had with every girlfriend he had before.

AN: Writer's block. Is this the end? How does this feel to you guys?


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